Aircraft Shipments highest in the last 10 Years

GA aircraft deliveries in 2023 were the highest in the last 10 years according to figures released yesterday by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA).

The figures showed manufacturers delivered a total of 4012 aeroplanes and helicopters in the 2023 calendar year, eclipsing the 2022 total of 3745.

"For the first time in more than a decade, the general aviation manufacturing industry has eclipsed 4000 aircraft delivered," said Pete Bunce, GAMA president and CEO.

"In addition to this strong showing, there are robust and growing order backlogs for all segments of aircraft. This is a testament to the resilience of our industry and the integral role that general and business aviation plays in our communities.

"While the deliveries from 2023 are very encouraging, our industry faces headwinds from ongoing supply chain issues, workforce shortages, uncertainty and unpredictability from global regulators, and short-sighted efforts aimed at curbing business and general aviation, particularly in Europe.

"As civil aviation’s innovation incubator, our entire GA industry is focused on new aircraft and technologies that will lead the way in safety and sustainability for the entire aviation sector."

Cessna's Skyhawk ended the 2023 year on top of the four-seat trainer market with 180 examples shipped compared with 145 of the Piper Pilot 100/Archer III. The last step on the podium went to Diamond's DA40. The C172 figures represented a growth of 19% over 2022 against the Piper offering, which was flat compared to the previous year. Cirrus contributed 115 SR20 airframes to the result and Tecnam's P2010 was 26% up with 58 shipments.

The high speed single market held no surprises for anyone with Cirrus rolling out 495 SR22/Ts across 2023, a result 16% over last year and nearly six times more that the 85 delivered by every other manufacturer in the sector combined. With only 39 C182T Skylanes and 22 Piper M350s rolled out, it is clear that no other manufacturer has the product nor production power to threaten the dominance of the big Cirrus.

The story is similar in the light twins department, where Diamond predictably took the first two slots with 66 shipments of the DA62 and 54 of the DA42. Tecnam rounded out the top three with 23 P2006Ts sent to customers. Beechcraft's G58 Baron (5) and Piper's Seminole (18) are still in there, but have a lot of catching up to do if they was to challenge the composite airframes.

Pilatus' ubiquitous PC-12 was again the leading single-engine turbo-prop with 102 examples shipped in 2023. That's a 28% increase over the previous year's 80. With Piper's M500/600 (60, up 20%) and Daher's TBM 900 series (58, up 4%) holding their own in the market, the Beechcraft Denali will have a battle on it's hands when it reaches the market next year. Cessna's Caravan range continues to dominate the Kodiak 100 with 79 deliveries compared to 16.

Cirrus' SF50 vision took a comfortable victory in the single-pilot jet market; it's 96 shipments up 7% over 2022. The first of the twin jets was Embraer's Phenom 100/300 range with 74 deliveries besting Cessna's M2 (25). The PC-24 is really in a class of its own, and experienced 18% growth from 40 to 47 shipments as more aeromedical customers bring the twin jet online.

Major Aircraft Shipments Q4 2023

Major Aircraft Shipments Calendar Year 2023